I am told that WikiWiki means quick in Hawaiian. Wikis are collaborative web sites and although that might sound a bit daunting, they are actually really easy to create and they are free. Wikis are great for creating a simple website, organizing a project or just storing online files. The idea of a wiki is that it can be set up so that several people have editing rights so you can work on project together. There are several good Wiki sites out there including PBWiki, Wikispaces and WetPaint. For this challenge, I am going to show you one of the newer ones out there. Google Sites. Google Sites is easy to use and if you already have a Google Account, you don't need to create a new account. Wikis can be public, private, or invitation only. You can set up different editing privileges as well.
Creating a Class Website Using Google Sites
I chose to do wikis this week because as we move through the challenges, you are going to want a place to share your work and create something you can actually use. If you have either a blog (Week 1 Challenge ) or a wiki (Week 10 Challenge ) you will have a convenient place to share your work and build productivity. Most of these challenges can also be added to your district web page, but those aren't quite as user friendly. You will still be able to do the challenges without a wiki or blog, but it just won't be quite as useful. If you already have a blog, try a wiki too. They work a little differently and can serve different purposes. So... don't be afraid of the scary words like Wiki and Website and just give it a try. You can create a wiki in under 5 minutes. (Of course, once it is created, you will want to spend more time developing it.) Challenge: 1. Create a Wiki using either Google Sites or another Wiki program. 2. Follow the simple steps on slide show. 3. Share the URL to your Wiki by sending me an email at mthornburgh@mv.k12.wa.us 4. You can spend time customizing the Wiki and setting it up for what ever purpose you have planned for it, or just leave it as is for now. 5. If you have time, I suggest that you create more than one wiki using another wiki program so that you can compare which site you like better. The more wikis the better. :)
Congratulations to John Sadzewicz for winning this week's challenge. He created a student collaboration Elections and Government Wiki for 6th Graders at Washington. Check out our growing list of wikis. John Sadzewicz: Washington and LaVenture Schools : 6th Grade Elections and Government Wiki Forrest Willoughby: Mount Vernon High School: HP Tech Grant Wiki Jessica McKell: Student Teacher at Lincoln: Site for Organizing her teaching plans. Resources:Sites to Create Free Educational Wikis: PBWiki :This is really easy to use. I find it easier to embed non-googley things in a PBWiki. Google Sites has more templates and customization. WikiSpaces: This is a favorite of many teachers. WetPaint: Another good Wiki, but not as popular as Wikispaces and PBWiki. Tutorials about creating Wikis: Examples Using Google Sites
Examples of different ways to use a wiki: I have a great group of people in my Professional Learning Network. I asked them today to share examples of wikis they have created. Not only are these great examples of wikis, these are also great examples of collaboration.
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Week 10: Google Sites and other Wikis |